Basketball was first introduced to Korea during the early 20th century, and the very first game held in Korea was between Japan and US. After the Korean Basketball Association was formed in 1925, it started to gain popularity among Korean citizens. Starting from the 1936 Berlin Olympic, Korea started to play, and managed to get 8th place out of 23 countries in the 14th Olympics at London. Starting then, Korea started to win multiple championships in Asian games and ABC tournaments. And finally, in 1997 February, KBL, the professional league, was established (Nix161).
The situation of Korean Basketball
If we take a look at the current of basketball nowadays, the position called “dual guard” is spreading very quickly. Instead of having the point guard controlling the game and the shooting guard scoring, coaches are looking for players who are capable of controlling and attacking. However, this is leading to a great decrease in the number of orthodox point guards. In Korea, there has been a lineage of point guards; nonetheless, it is disappearing. For 10-11 season, Yang Dong Geun was the assist leader with 5.53 assists per game. However, this is about 2 less then what Kang Dong Hee did in the first year of pro league, which was 7.33 per game (Sasunyi).
Having foreign players in the league was originally designed to increase the skill level of Korean players in the league. However, currently these foreign players are becoming an obstacle in developing traditional big men. As the foreign players are usually brought in for power forward or center, traditional players who played center or power forward in college are seeking ways to turn into a small forward or become a bench player. This has become a great problem as we do not have enough skilled big men to play for the national team in international tournaments. The fact that the rules have changed to possessing one foreign player per team from have two for the 11-12 season is a positive sign.
Another problem we have is the Free Agent system in the league. Unlike that of NBA, Korean players are unable to sign contracts “freely” although they are free agents. When a team signs with a player whose salary is in the top 30 of the league, the team needs to send another player in return. This is making free trades difficult, making players to sign and trade instead. Also, the salary cap is a problem. In KBL, the salary cap is 1.1 billion won per team. However, as some of the star players’ salary caps are about 0.4 billion or 0.2 billion, other bench players’ salary is extremely low compared to their efforts and time spent for a season. Sports players are supposed to earn money, but they can not; it is indeed a problem (Happy Campus).
Lastly, the situation of youth basketball is the problem. Although there are multiple junior high and high schools to supply players to college league and pro league, the condition they play in are horrible. Some schools decide to get rid of their team solely because they can not get a trophy in a year or two. In addition, there are only so many colleges to accept that many students from high school. Compared to the number of colleges Korea have, only few have active teams in the league. If a student makes it to a college, it is okay. However, if one fails to do so, he is in a big trouble. Unlike US, Korean players do not have to care about grades at all during season. While American high schools only allow students to participate when they have a GPA higher than certain point, Korean schools do not have such rule. Thus, a student who graduated high school that failed to go to college for basketball is in a deep trouble of finding himself a future again (Sasunyi).
Ha Seung Jin @ Portland Trailblazers
How can it be fixed
The quickest way, or in other words, the simplest way will be creating a star player. We know talent is not something that could be developed, but currently the league is full of players who are obedient. They listen to the coach well, and follow directions well. I am not saying defensive, obedient players are bad; simply the league needs players with more individuality. Aggressive players, along with players who are capable of creating plays that turn the audience into awe are needed. In the modern world,stars and issues are not naturally made, but created accordingly. Hoping for a hidden talent to be discovered is an old idea. Current players are not behind the 90s star players by anything. They simply need more management along with processing. Unlike the NBA, KBL fans do not have a feeling of origin. Whether their home team is losing or winning, they cheer and roar for three-point shots and dunks. Without a star, people do not give interest to their own team. Without a star, rivalries are not formed, and issue makers disappear. We need to look back at the productivity of the league where they fail to develop a player with lot of potential into a star or create issues as much as the 90s amateur league (Happy Campus).
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Korean Basketball
History
Basketball was first introduced to Korea during the early 20th century, and the very first game held in Korea was between Japan and US. After the Korean Basketball Association was formed in 1925, it started to gain popularity among Korean citizens. Starting from the 1936 Berlin Olympic, Korea started to play, and managed to get 8th place out of 23 countries in the 14th Olympics at London. Starting then, Korea started to win multiple championships in Asian games and ABC tournaments. And finally, in 1997 February, KBL, the professional league, was established (Nix161).
The situation of Korean Basketball
If we take a look at the current of basketball nowadays, the position called “dual guard” is spreading very quickly. Instead of having the point guard controlling the game and the shooting guard scoring, coaches are looking for players who are capable of controlling and attacking. However, this is leading to a great decrease in the number of orthodox point guards. In Korea, there has been a lineage of point guards; nonetheless, it is disappearing. For 10-11 season, Yang Dong Geun was the assist leader with 5.53 assists per game. However, this is about 2 less then what Kang Dong Hee did in the first year of pro league, which was 7.33 per game (Sasunyi).
Having foreign players in the league was originally designed to increase the skill level of Korean players in the league. However, currently these foreign players are becoming an obstacle in developing traditional big men. As the foreign players are usually brought in for power forward or center, traditional players who played center or power forward in college are seeking ways to turn into a small forward or become a bench player. This has become a great problem as we do not have enough skilled big men to play for the national team in international tournaments. The fact that the rules have changed to possessing one foreign player per team from have two for the 11-12 season is a positive sign.
Another problem we have is the Free Agent system in the league. Unlike that of NBA, Korean players are unable to sign contracts “freely” although they are free agents. When a team signs with a player whose salary is in the top 30 of the league, the team needs to send another player in return. This is making free trades difficult, making players to sign and trade instead. Also, the salary cap is a problem. In KBL, the salary cap is 1.1 billion won per team. However, as some of the star players’ salary caps are about 0.4 billion or 0.2 billion, other bench players’ salary is extremely low compared to their efforts and time spent for a season. Sports players are supposed to earn money, but they can not; it is indeed a problem (Happy Campus).
Lastly, the situation of youth basketball is the problem. Although there are multiple junior high and high schools to supply players to college league and pro league, the condition they play in are horrible. Some schools decide to get rid of their team solely because they can not get a trophy in a year or two. In addition, there are only so many colleges to accept that many students from high school. Compared to the number of colleges Korea have, only few have active teams in the league. If a student makes it to a college, it is okay. However, if one fails to do so, he is in a big trouble. Unlike US, Korean players do not have to care about grades at all during season. While American high schools only allow students to participate when they have a GPA higher than certain point, Korean schools do not have such rule. Thus, a student who graduated high school that failed to go to college for basketball is in a deep trouble of finding himself a future again (Sasunyi).
How can it be fixed
The quickest way, or in other words, the simplest way will be creating a star player. We know talent is not something that could be developed, but currently the league is full of players who are obedient. They listen to the coach well, and follow directions well. I am not saying defensive, obedient players are bad; simply the league needs players with more individuality. Aggressive players, along with players who are capable of creating plays that turn the audience into awe are needed. In the modern world,stars and issues are not naturally made, but created accordingly. Hoping for a hidden talent to be discovered is an old idea. Current players are not behind the 90s star players by anything. They simply need more management along with processing. Unlike the NBA, KBL fans do not have a feeling of origin. Whether their home team is losing or winning, they cheer and roar for three-point shots and dunks. Without a star, people do not give interest to their own team. Without a star, rivalries are not formed, and issue makers disappear. We need to look back at the productivity of the league where they fail to develop a player with lot of potential into a star or create issues as much as the 90s amateur league (Happy Campus).
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